Improvement in harvesters



' 'rares ArnNr triceo AllVlPROVEiVlENTIN HARVESTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 9,03l, dated June l5, 185?.

To all whom, it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM MCLAGAN, of Cuylerville, in the county of Livingston and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Harvesting-Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact (Inscription of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this speciiication, in which- K Figure l is a plan or birds eye view of the machine. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 8 is an inverted plan or under view, in detail, of the inclined table of slats, on which the grain is deposited previous to being thrown off into gavels, showing also the rake for ac- A complishing the latter object, cutter, and other parts. transversely of the machine through one of Fig. 4L is a sectional elevation taken the spaces separating two of the adjoining slats forming-the table, looking toward the back of the machine,and exhibiting mainly the rake, rake-cleaner, and spring deliverygate. Fig. 5 is a detached view of the rack and pinion operating the rake, showing the rack lengthwise, seen from its front.

The same letters of reference denote corresponding parts throughout the several iigures.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the machine with its several improve ments.

A A is the frame of the machine, which, when supported on its carrying-wheels, lies at an inclination from the horizoiital position, as seen in Fig. 2, so that the front of the machine dips toward the ground, as is usual in other machines of a similar character, thewhich many parts and arrangements I adopt are the same, and I shall therefore in this description briefly refer to them only as necessary for the illustration of my improvements forming adj uncts thereto.

B is the tongue to which the cattle are attached for putting the machine in motion and operating it. The tongue B passes through a heel, G C, wherein it may have vertical, but is not allowed lateral, play. The tongue runs some distance back and forms its draft attachment under the step D of the drivers seat E, the heel C O serving for the tongue to bear against when turning the machine, or to be borne on during any lateral stress formed by the cutter or otherwise when the machine is in motion. Y

F is the fulcrum and driving carrying-wheel. It is situated, as shown, in rear of the tongue, atthe back of the machine, whereby I am enabled to place it on one side of the line of draftviz., the side on which is the cut-so that through the relative referred to bearing-points of the tongue more control is obtained over the machine in turning it, also less tendency than in other machines to press laterally on the cattle and crowd them into or toward the grain, which is the effect produced by the re` sistance. of the cut. The wheel F, elevating the machine at the back, operates, when in.

motion, the saw or knives for cutting the wheat, rake, and other working parts, the wheel F, through the wheel G, (on the same shaft,) having spur and bevel teeth communicating motion through the pinions II and I to the cutter and rake, the shaft a of the bevel-pinion I, operating the rake, while another bevel-wheel, J, on the shaft of the pinion II works into a pinion, K, for actuating the cutter. Suitable framing for carrying these several wheels is erected on the main frame. The pinion K, hung on a vertical (or nearly so) shaft, revolves a disk, b, which, through an eccentric pin projecting from its lowery face, operates they rod c, working the levers d d, linked together by coupling-rod c, and having their fulcra ff in a cross-piece of the frame. The levers d d eX- tend toward the front of the machine, where they are connected to the cutter L, which may either be a saw or have a knife or sickle-edge, and which, by its motion lengthwise as the machine travels forward, cut the stalks of the wheat near their bottom, the wheat falling back onto the table of slats behind the cutter, the motion and construction of which I do not claim as new.

M M M are the slats forming the receivingtable foi the grain as it is cut. They are stationary and situated transversely of the machine at a slight distance apart from one another, so as to leave a space of equal breadth between them for the travel therethrough of the rake-teeth.

N is a metallic or other apron connecting the first or front slat with the cutter Ii, and O is a delivery-apron sloped from the inside ends of the slats to the ground, a narrow upper eXten- `sion of it covering the said ends of the slats,

u eral :movement of the shaft there.

g g g are the fingers or guards which serve to collect and hold in the wheat between them while the cutter L is performing its cut, the off finger or guard projecting more than the others, and being fitted with a guide, h, for directing the feed to the cutter andsupplying the table of slats.

P is the rake head or board, situated under-- neath the table of slats and lying transversely to them. It receives a reciprocating motion in direction of the length of the slats through the following means: kThe shaft d of the pinion I has, in addition to its revolving inovement, a vertical motion or play allowed it, or a motion equivalent thereto, it vibrating Yfrom-the pinion I end, where it is hung in a lever, z', so connected by joint to the frame as to admit of the pinion I being thrown in or out of gear with the wheel G, this being done by means of the rodj through the handle-lever r, operated by the driver at pleasure, as theA rake is required to be set in motion. rlhe end farthest from the pinion I of the shaft c has its bearing at that part, so as to admit of a considerable up-and-down play, it working in a slot or guide, Z, which prevents much lat- A pinion,

is ttcd Ionto the shaft a at this latternamed end,which pinion gears into and operates a rack, R, connected with and attached to the rake-board l?, the connection being established through means of the slide S,brack eted to the rack, and fitting by a tongue in a groove made in a stationary railpiece, T, along which the ,slide S and rack R travel-one on either side. The rack Ris of peculiar construction, as seen in Fig. 5, it having its teeth (into which the pinion Q gears) projecting at right angles, or thereabout, from its face down the center line thereof, round pegs or pins serving for ihe teeth, and the rack having grooveways above and below the teeth, made continuous by a curved grooveway at either end, thereby forming one continuous groove, U, into which the pinion Q end of the shaft a fits, so that by the turning of the pinion Qthe rack R is reciproeated backward and forward, and with it the rake, in the manner specied, the pinion Q alternately operating above and below the teeth of the rack.

On one edge of the rake-board I (that nearest the delivery end) are hung the rake-teeth m m, they being connected by a rod or spindie, n, thereto, which admits of their falling down in one-f-what may be called the front direction, in .which direction they are bent, as seen in Fig. 4. They iit in and travel along the spaces between the slats M M M, reciprocating therethrough or along, they starting, as it were, from the side of the machine next to the standing. grain, moving as indicated by black arrow, during which travel they are erect and serve to press the cut grain against and through the spring delivery-gate V, which, through means of springs p p at either end, causes a resistance to the passage of the grain through the gate, the effect of which resistance specified in opening.

Ytheir forward motion, as before.

jecting downward, which, at their lower eX- 'h tremity, press against the inclined deliveryapron O when the gate is shut; or the gate may be otherwise constructed and be acted upon by weight or weights instead' of springs, to offer the necessary resistance for the effect The position of the gate V when open is shown in red lines, Fig. 4; also, same iigure, immediately under the `open gate, is exhibited in red lines the advanced position of the rake-board P at completion of its forward stroke, the rake-teeth being then turned downward, as exhibited in red on the left hand of Fig. 4, which action- Y of wheat (previously lying onto the upper or-Y back slats) falling first and being caught by the stubble, while the stalk ends forced onto the front framing of the machine will be gradually and gently dropped as the machine travels onward. The rake-teeth occupy their erect position only while collecting the cut grain on the table of slats into a gavel for delivery through the gate V-that is, intheir travel, as indicated by black arrow, from the side of the machine next to the standing grain till arrival at the delivery-gate V. O11 their return or back stroke they maintain the position shown by red lines at the left hand of Fig. 4, not protruding above the slats M M M, so as to avoid interfering with the grain being cut and laid on the table till sufficient is cut for formation of another gavel, when the teeth of the rake, arriving at the termination of their back stroke, resume their erect position and proceed in These changes in the position and actions of the raketeeth are produced through pinsof s, projecting from the spindle or rod a, which is iitted so as to turn, and to which the rake-teeth are atd tached, the pin r striking a iiXed stud or point, u, when the rake arrives at the extremity of its front stroke, which throws the teeth to the position shown in red lines at the left hand of Fig. 4, and the pin s,v recovering the teeth from this to their erect position when arriving at the termination of their back stroke, (whose direction is denoted by red arrow,) the pin s striking against a projecting stud, x, and so throwing the teeth upward. Suitable recesses or openings are made in the rake-board and framing of the machine for reception and opation of the studs 1- and s. The rake-teeth resuming their erect position at the termina tion of the back stroke is explained by lines in red at the right hand of Fig. 4; butin thus resuming their erect position the rake-teethr will be apt to throw up or back the grain on the table of the slats, to prevent which I propose to adopta rake-cleaner, NV, resembling in construction the delivery-gate V, but not acted upon by springs, it beingz loosely suspended and swinging to the position when operated shown by red lines in Fig. 4, so that its teeth work in between the teeth ofthe rake, which they 'clear or clean, and project the grain raised by the rake-teeth along the table of slats toward the delivery-gate V. The said rakecleaner is so operated by the rake-board P striking the lower end of a lever, Y, which has a fulcrum attached to the frame of the machine, and whose upper extremity bears and acts against the rake-cleaner, this motion ofthe lever Y also being shown in red lines at the right hand of Fig. l.

One important feature connected with the action ofthe rake is that, through means of the handle-levert, it may be thrown out of gear when coming to a thin or widely sown part of the ield until, by the forward motion of the machine and continuous action of the cutter, sufficient grain is collected on the table of slats to form a gavel, when the driver on the seat, without any interruption, puts the rake again into gear.

I do not claim as new the application of a rake having a reciprocating movement for the purpose of gathering the grain into gavels; nor yet do I claim causing the teeth m m to travel between the slats forming the receiving-table, neither vibrating the said teeth in the manner specified, as such have been done before; but

Vhat I do claim as my invention, and de sire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The applieationof a rake-cleaner, \V, constructed similarly to the gate V, but not acted upon by springs, it being loosely suspended and so operated by the back motion of the rake as that its teethjwork upward between the teeth of the rake, throwing the grain cleared therefrom toward the delivery end or gate V.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name before two subscribing witnesses. IVILLIAM- MCLAGAN. Vitnesses:

A. GREGORY, A. E. H. J oi-rNsoN. 

